


Acceptance

by SimplyEllie



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-29 02:10:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8471491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyEllie/pseuds/SimplyEllie
Summary: In the span of ten days she grew comfortable in a stranger's apartment. If not for Unknown’s text messages, she wouldn’t have met the RFA. There would be no party. Without Unknown’s messages, she wouldn’t have met Zen. Less than 24 hours ago, Seven told her there was a bomb embedded in the apartment.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired to expand on the events of Day 10 on Zen's route. So much happened to the MC and I wanted to add/expand on it more than what was given in the game. Also, I use "she/her" to reference the MC.

_She wanted to scream._

_In the span of ten days she grew comfortable in a stranger’s apartment. Although she used the appliances, she made sure to put everything back where she found it. It was her way of paying respect to the woman she never knew, but all of her new friends adored.  And she was thankful for the app that led her to this apartment, as crazy as that seemed._

_If not for Unknown’s text messages, she wouldn’t have met the RFA. There would be no party. Without Unknown’s messages, she wouldn’t have met Zen. Rika’s apartment embodied all the amazing changes in her life._

_Less than 24 hours ago, Seven told her there was a bomb embedded in the apartment._

_She spent the day sitting in a corner of the room, daring to move only to use the bathroom. Her friends told her to eat but she had no appetite. Everyone scrambled to find a way to help her. She assured them that she was coping._

_She overlooked the secrets of the RFA out of respect, but now her life was in danger. She answered emails to prevent herself from dwelling on her predicament._

_She managed to doze off with her chin resting on her knees, phone clutched in her hand. She jolted awake at the sound of glass shattering. A man in black with snow white hair stood before the broken window, broken glass strewn around his feet._

_Every part of her wanted to bolt from this stifling little room that she never asked for. But the unstable man before her had access to a_ bomb _. Even if she managed to escape, she couldn’t outrun an explosion._

_“What do you want?” The coolness of her tone kept her terror internalized._

_“I brought you here, didn’t I? It is only fitting to take you back.”_

_The glass crunched beneath Unknown’s boots. His detached, lyrical tone scared her all the more. What was he capable of and what was in store for her?_

_The gleam of a large glass shard caught her eye. Would she have to hurt another person? What alternative did she have?_

_“Why should I listen to you?” she said, retaining eye contact._

 

Hours after the incident occurred she remained fixated on the scene, although all she wanted was to forget that it happened. She sat atop the bare countertop in Zen’s bathroom. Her arm quivered as she held out her hand.

“This is going to hurt, alright?” Zen’s tone was soft, apologetic. His touch was gentle despite the firmness of his hands, skin hardened by being on his own for so long.

Zen turned her hand palm up, revealing all of the cuts. He soaked the washcloth in the running sink water before cleaning her hand.

 

_Unknown raved to her about Magenta, about paradise. There she would not know pain nor suffering that came with living in the regular world. She did not want to go regardless, her heartbeat pounding louder as the seconds passed._

_Her questions stalled the inevitable; no one was coming for her. She dove for the glass shard._

_She snatched it but Unknown snatched her. His hand closed around hers, forcing her to clamp down on the glass. The shard tore into her flesh._

 

She whimpered as Zen cleaned her wounds. He apologized repeatedly, tone pained. Her other hand fisted in her lap, clutching her phone. The chatroom was silent, everyone moving forward with preparations to ensure that this incident would never happen again. Seven was gone, guilty for prioritizing protocol over her life. V was nowhere to be found.

Jumin assigned bodyguards to remain near Zen’s apartment. A special note was made to watch the windows as well as the doors.

 

_All Seven caught on his camera was Zen barging through the building. She reduced her outcry to a whimper when she heard the doorbell ring, an ordinary noise for a terrifying situation. Zen pounded on the door. She did not respond, watching the bomb’s trigger catch the light in Unknown’s hand._

_“Are you alright?!” Zen shouted from outside the door._

_“I’m fine!” She needed him to leave. She could handle Unknown and Magenta, but if this psycho hurt Zen—_

_Zen entered the code into the door. As the door swung open, Unknown yanked her back, pressing the inside of his elbow against her neck._  
  
Zen froze in the doorway, fear and rage coalescing in his piercing gaze. 

Zen avoided getting soap into her wounds as he cleaned her skin. Earlier Jaehee suggested taking her to a hospital. But the idea of being somewhere unfamiliar and alone terrified her. Zen agreed to take her to his place, not trusting the opinions of the other RFA members at the moment. She begrudgingly agreed to see a doctor if they could not handle the wound.

“I’ve learned to handle minor wounds,” Zen assured. “It’s a perk to being on my own for so long,”

He applied antibiotic to her skin, and bandaged her hand. The drip of the sink filled the silence, both reliving the earlier incident but neither wanting to speak.

Zen led her out of the bathroom when he was done. He sat her on the couch, and placed his hands on her shoulders.

She flinched. He withdrew.

“Do you need anything? A cup of tea, or maybe food? How about a shower?” He smiled, but his eyes betrayed his worry.

“I’ll lie down for a bit,” she said, returning the smile.

“Do you want space—”

“No,” she said, panic seizing her. “I’m fine, I just, I’ll sleep a little easier.”

“Of course. If there’s anything else I can do, please tell me. I want you to feel safe here…”

“I’m alright,” she said. “Could you sit with me?”

“Anything.” Zen sat beside her. She noticed his tense posture, the way his leg bounced as if he was waiting for something. She knew that Zen needed to unwind as well, but she refused to let him smoke. And Zen refused to leave, meaning that riding his motorcycle was out of the question.

“If you want to brew tea, go ahead.”

“I’ll be right back,” Zen said, sheepish. She snickered as he moved to the kitchen area. She felt like she hadn’t laughed in months.

Soon enough there was a pot of chamomile tea with honey and lemon sitting on the coffee table. Zen wrapped a blanket around her and surrounded her with all the pillows he could find. He blinked a few times, checking and double checking that she was fully covered.  

“I think I’m comfortable,” she said, feeling like a marshmallow.

A blush crept onto Zen’s cheeks. “Too much?”

She freed her hand from the blanket and took his own. She rested her head against his shoulder. “Not at all, my lovely knight,” she said.

Zen laughed, soft and airy. “Ah, you need to warn me before you compliment me like that.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, losing herself in his warmth.

“Oh no, please continue to appreciate me.”

The sweetness of his cologne enveloped her. Zen ran his fingers through her hair and closed her eyes, allowing herself to finally relax.

 

_Zen barred the exit, fighting every urge in his body that told him to maul her captor. “Where did you come from? What do you want!?”_

_“Only the party planner of the RFA. Eventually, I will come back for all of you.”_

_Unknown’s grip made it difficult to breathe. Unknown had the upper hand; Zen was helpless from protecting her._

_She closed her eyes and chomped down on her captor’s hand. Unknown shouted, releasing her on reflex. She ducked out of the way of the psycho’s hands, running into Zen’s arms._

_Zen pushed her ahead of him, leading her out of the room. “Just trust me and run!” he shouted, remaining behind her, hand on her back as they rushed for the stairwell._

_The ground shook with a deafening boom. Zen shielded her, knowing that they couldn’t outrun the blast. A blinding white light engulfed them both as they were blown forward. The noise drowned out her screams._

_The air was thick with blood and dust._

_Zen laid on top of her, having shielded her from the initial explosion. His hand protected the back of her head, as they lay atop the debris that was once the stairwell that was now caved in. Zen wasn’t moving, hair and clothes stained with blood. He whispered her name, sluggish, pained._

_Hypnotic green orbs neared them, white hair stark against the dust and smoke. Her breathing hitched as her fingers dug into Zen’s back, holding on too tight._

_A hand adorned with spikes reached out. She shut her eyes._

_Her eyes opened to a stage, the lights unbearably bright. She motioned to shield her face when her hand hit glass.  She was trapped in a glass case beneath these lights, pinned like an insect on a dissection table._

_“Hello?!” She beat against the glass, her own voice amplified in the case. To her left was an endless stretch of darkness for an audience._

_She saw Zen at the far end of the stage, in formal attire, broad shoulders adorned by a long, sweeping cape. He moved before the audience, voice muffled as if she was underwater. His gestures were slow and mechanical, without any shred with emotion._

_Her skin burned under the lights. Whispers echoed around her. “This is paradise… Endless parties, pleasure without pain…”_

_The glass case door swung open. Unknown held the door, other hand gesturing for her to exit. She shivered, remaining where she was._

_“This is the paradise, of happiness, so let us rewrite this fairytale,” he said, gleeful._

_Zen neared her, face void of any emotion. He reached out for her and she reared back, trying not to scream. His smile failed to reflect in his dull, lifeless eyes._

_But her own screams drowned out Unknown’s words: “Now, look at the princess here, and smile.”_

She bolted upright, seeing only darkness. She felt her skin, her hair. Her shaking form was drenched in sweat, bangs plastered to her forehead.

She jumped when her phone rang. Zen was calling. She immediately picked up.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" he said, tone used only when speaking to her.

She wanted to be strong for him, for everyone, but she couldn't handle being alright at the moment. She swallowed heavily, mouth quivering as she tried to speak. No words came out.

"Hey, are you there?" Uncertainty bled into Zen's voice. "I went to the store really quick. I wanted to make sure I had enough food. I would’ve bought the whole store if I could."

“You’re okay.” Her hand throbbed. She knew it was a nightmare but she couldn’t shake the hollow feeling inside. She wanted to assure that she was okay. “Zen, I was so scared—”

_“Where are you?”_ She heard Zen running, loud footsteps and crinkling bags. “What happened to Jumin’s guards?!”

Zen thought she was missing. She wanted to assure him that she was okay, but she couldn’t get the sentence to form correctly: "Am I okay?"

Her question hung in the air.

Seconds later Zen barged through the door, throwing his keys, phone, and purchases on the counter. He turned on the light. His bangs were mused and his face flushed from running.

"You're safe.” Zen closed the gap between them. She shook when he wrapped his arms around her.  

"I'm okay, I'm okay," she kept assuring them both.

"You don't seem okay... What happened while I was gone?"

Her phone flashed with new emails and chatroom notifications. The party was tomorrow. She needed to apologize to Seven for her outburst. Yoosung needed help with researching for Zen's press conference. Jaehee was coordinating last minute details for the party.

“Please, tell me what’s wrong.” Zen pleaded. The crack in his voice deepened the crack in her emotions. “I want to be there for you. You’ve built me up so much over these few days alone and… I don’t know where I’d be without you. But we’ve all been so focused on ourselves, and the party. Please, let me be here for you.”

Her vision blurred. She turned to the floor, searching for the words to convey her insecurities, her inadequacies and her fears. “I’m a little shaky…” she whispered as the tears began to run down her cheeks.  

Zen remained silent, rubbing small circles into her back as she sobbed uncontrollably. They were safe. Here, together. The nightmare felt insignificant, the possibilities of what could have been fading into the back of her mind. Here was another unfamiliar place, made into a home by the man she felt she knew for longer than the conversations let on.

Regardless of the mistakes made in the past few days, Zen risked his life in order to protect her. She glanced up to find him offering her a tissue. The actor, the runaway, the man who flirted with danger and the hothead who refused handouts, focused on her and only her.

It was at this moment that she knew that she loved him.

“You can stay here for as long as you like,” Zen said. “I’ll protect you so that nothing like that ever happens again.”  

She hoped Zen understood that she would never leave.

Zen cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb along her skin. “I love you, and only you. What’s important is my heart that’s pounding right now. I know that my feelings are true.”

Her eyes widened as he kissed her, lips feathery soft. She closed her eyes, sighing against his mouth, hand moving to rest on his shoulder.

They withdrew and though she felt lightheaded, she knew this was where she wanted to be.

“I love you too, my lovely Zen.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Also, Bad Ending 3 is nuts! Please kudo/comment if you liked it. Thanks for reading~


End file.
